Zutara Week 2012
by Laser Lance 720
Summary: Once a year we are given 7 prompts and told to spread the Zutara love! 7 one-shot Prompts, one amazing shipping. Includes: Serendipity, Momentous, Transcend, Whimsical, Heartstrings, Faded, and Seasons
1. Serendipity

**Disclaimer: I own nobody!**

**A/N: Prompt number one. Serendipity. (Serendipity: Discovering something nice while trying to find something else.) **

The Western Air Temple was quiet, the only sound to be heard was the stomping of Katara's feet as she tracked down the firebender, a pair of his discarded pants trapped in her hands. Zuko had left an old pair of pants laying on his bed, and a certain Momo had decided to borrow them and drop them in the soup she had been making. The lemur in question had been given a proper scolding about pants and soup. Now it was time to yell at the firebender who owned the pants. Of course, it hadn't been Zuko's fault that Momo was a thief, but this detail was not going to stop the waterbender from yelling at him. He had probably done something evil and Zuko like when she hadn't been looking and deserved a scolding anyways.

Rounding the corner, Katara stopped at the sight that greeted her. Zuko was walking towards her, a slightly frustrated look over his facial features, while her brother was bouncing along side him with a wide grin. The two had wandered off earlier in what Sokka refereed to as a 'manly bonding experience.' Knowing her brother this involved something having to do with hunting, fishing, trapping, or meat in general. Knowing Zuko, the bonding experience turned into an awkward mess with failed fishing. Knowing the two of them, they caught nothing and probably scared all the animals away while goofing off. Katara's suspicions involving failed hunting/fishing/trapping were true when she noticed that the boys came back with nothing.

That wasn't necessarily true in Zuko's case though. Trailing in a single file line behind him, was a group of what appeared to be baby turtleducks. As they came closer, not noticing Katara's presence, Zuko would stop, turn around and glare at the lead turtleduck as if trying to scare it away. This plan failed, because the moment Zuko turned to look at them, the ducks would freeze and stare at him in awe. He would sigh, something told Katara that the ducks had heard this sigh many times while following him, continue walking, and the ducks would follow. It seemed this little dance had occurred multiple times on the way back, because each time Zuko stopped, Sokka stopped too and shock his head while grinning.

"Face it Mama Zuko," Sokka's grin was coming close to touching the edges of his ears, "they love you!"

"Did you just call me Mama Zuko?" The firebender raised an eyebrow. He shifted his gaze over at the tanned boy beside him.

"You are the one with little babies," Sokka responded shifting his gaze at the turtleducks before turning them back onto Zuko. "Nothing like little turtleducks to make you feel tough and manly."

"Was that sarcastic?" Zuko in pure confusion of the previous comment. Katara couldn't help but shake her head.

"Yes. Mommy." Sokka gave Zuko a playful shove at the end of his sentence. The turtleducks behind them started quacking loudly at the boy in response. "Look," Sokka seemed unfazed by the now angry turtleducks, "they're protecting their mommy. Wait until the others see this. Katara is going to flip. Oh, hi Katara!"

Zuko snapped his head up instantly from gazing at the ducks trying to protect him and looked apprehensively at Katara standing before them, his soup covered pants still in her hands. 'What is going on," she asked narrowing her eyes at the firebender in an intimidating glare. She, surprisingly, wasn't angry with the two boys at the moment; how can you be angry at someone who has a protective line of turtleducks behind them. But watching Zuko flinch under the glare was alright with Katara.

"We went to go manly bonding," Sokka defended, "and we scared all the fish-"

"And everything else for that matter," Zuko muttered under his breath. Sokka shot him a glare for interrupting but continued.

"-away when we fell into the river. But for some reason, these turtleducks took a liking to Zuko and followed us back here."

Katara could only stare wide eyed at the turtleducks who were now crowding around Zuko's feet to get a better look at what wa going on. She will emit, Zuko looked rather cute and pathetic with the turtleducks all climbing around his feet. They just looked up at him with these big black eyes, and their little faces seemed to smile at him. It was all a happy moment. Katara almost forgot the reason she had been looking for Zuko to begin with. But feeling the soaked fabric in her hands she remembered. Turtleducks or no turtleducks, she was going to yell at him for leaving his pants out for Momo to ruin dinner with. He was an accomplice to the soup ruining.

"Well while you were off playing mommy," Katara shifted her gaze from the ducks up at Zuko. A frown spread over his face at the word mommy. "Momo used your filthy pants to ruin dinner with. Now thanks to your inability to put your clothes away, we have no soup for tonight. And since neither of you caught something, all we'll have tonight is the white rice I packed before we left Camelion Bay."

"I can solve the dinner issue," Sokka raised his eyebrows before looking down at the turtleducks still glaring at him. "There are eleven of us here, and ten turtleducks. Aang doesn't eat meat so that leave on for each of us." Sokka made a move at the lead turtleduck, who Katara was sure was growling at him, but stopped whenever a pale hand slapped his away. Katara was about to protest her brothers turtleduck dinner idea, but someone beat her to it.

"You are not eating my turtleducks!' Zuko was very defensive about the ducks. He picked up the growling turtleduck, Katara was sure this one was the leader of the pack, and held him close to his chest. The turtleduck stopped growling at Sokka the moment in cuddle in Zuko's arms. "What is wrong with you? Turtleducks aren't meant to be eaten. They are meant to swim, be feed and occasionally one will let you let you pet and love on it. Who eats a turtleduck? That's like eating a human baby! Tell him Katara, he listens to you."

Katara wasn't sure how Zuko connected turtleducks to human babies, but she did agree with him on the no eating rule. She didn't know if it was the large eyes that stared at both her and Zuko in awe, or the lead turtleduck who was nuzzled up in Zuko's arm, that made her side so strongly. But she was against the now eating rule. "Zuko's right on this Sokka. We are not eating the turtleducks."

"Thank you," Zuko nodded at Katara before tilting his head back to the duck in his arms. "Lets get you and the others back to your river before your mommy comes and eats me. Alright Fender?" The turtleduck quacked once, the others at Zuko's feet quacked as well, before Fender laid his little yellow head on Zuko's elbow.

"Fender?" Katara and Sokka muttered together looking at the now named turtleduck Zuko was holding. The firebender didn't answer, just turned and walked back the way he had came with the ducks still following. Sokka chuckled quietly before running off the other way, most likely to tell either Toph or Aang about Zuko and his little turtleducks.

Katara stayed and watched Zuko's retreating figure. She couldn't help but smile at the way the ducks were all bouncing around his feet. All of her worried and fears of the firebender fell away as she watched the cute and pathetic party leaving. She couldn't help but smile.

**-oOo-**

**The ended! Well... Happy Zutara Week! As usual I am unprepared and wrote this the morning of day one! Because that is how I role. **

**The one I was going to use didn't work quite right so I had to start over, and Mama Zuko was just too cute to pass up.**

**Day one of Zutara week down. Six more prompts to write for!**


	2. Momentous

**Disclaimers: I don't own any characters, or the shipping Zutara, or the words that write this fic either...**

**A/N: Takes place the night after Southern Raiders. Everyone is on Ember Island. **

**Momentous: **_**Adjective:**_** (of a decision, event, or change) Of great importance or significance, esp. in its bearing on the future.**

It had been almost six hours ago that Katara had been dropped off at Ember Island, followed shortly by the others. Aang of course had his mind on the whole forgiveness thing and it just ate away at her. He acted like he knew what she was going through, acted like he knew what was the best thing to do. But he didn't and he never would. The only person who had been able to connect with her was... was the one she swore she'd never trust again. And now... now she couldn't ignore the feelings she felt towards the firebender. Katara had used her hate and anger as justification of letting the butterflies in her stomach pass. But now that she let that hate go, there was nothing stopping those feelings from entering her mind.

Katara sighed deeply kicking her feet from her seat on the edge of the dock. She had waited here for the others to show up earlier, and the dock just seemed like the perfect place to mop. Under the bright moon, over the flowing water. It was the perfect place where she could deal with her Zuko related issue; as well as deal with the guilt that was building on her heart from earlier that day. She may not have killed Yon Ra like she wanted, but what had happened earlier on that ship would still haunt her. The terrified stare that flashed over Zuko's face for a moment as she bloodbent the man sat on her mind. Both his stare and the pleading eyes of the man she had attacked burnt a hole into her subconscious. Their golden gaze unable to leave her mind.

"Katara?" The girl turned around quickly, her fist raised for whatever was coming at her. Blue eyes quickly spotted the narrowed golden pair; one slightly smaller due to the burnt skin around it. Zuko looked at her in worry and concern, but the momentary flinch that sent him stepping back slightly didn't go amiss to her. "Are you okay?" He reached for her shoulder but withdrew quickly as if afraid of upsetting the waterbender any farther.

"I'm fine," Katara lied turning away from him. She was no where near fine, but she didn't think talking to Zuko about it would help solve anything. They had finally gotten over the awkward acquaintance stage and made it to friends, she didn't want to ruin it by springing a possible love on him. This was something that she wanted to keep to herself. But maybe he would listen to the other things on her mind. He had been there, he had seen what she had done. She couldn't bring herself to tell anyone else about the bloodbending, but if Zuko already knew what had happened, what was the harm of talking to him.

"You're not fine Katara," Zuko's voice broke her thoughts and she turned to him. Her face was literately a foot from hers. How had he sat down beside her without her noticing? It was his stupid ninja skills.

"What makes you think that," Katara replied back cockily, trying despretly to slow down her increasing heart rate. He was just sitting so close to her, she could reach out and kiss him in she wanted to. And oh, how she wanted to. It was just those eyes, and that smile, and the genuine look of concern that he was giving her. She tried to force down the thoughts, but every time she thought she had her heart under control, the glare from the moon on the water would reflect in his eyes and they would glow and her heart would start pounding away in her chest.

"For one," Zuko grinned slightly making Katara's heart beat increase slightly as well, "you are sitting out here in the middle of the night. All alone. In the cold. On a dock."

"One, I have you know I happened to like the night. Its a waterbender things. Two, it's quiet when I don't have noisy people bothering me. Third, this is cold? I live in the South Pole. This is like summer plus another sixty degrees. And the dock is right above water. I am a waterbender."

"You also look like you were crying," Zuko countered looking her dead in the eyes.

Katara instantly brought her hands to her face rubbing away the stray tear that was clinging to her cheek. "I stubbed my toe on the way down here." She lied once more. Zuko looked at her in disbelief. "It was a big rock. It hurt."

"I know your lying." Zuko answered flatly, the grin gone from his face. "What's bothering you? Is it what happened with Yon Ra?"

"No," Katara whispered looking away. Facing Yon Ra had been a good thing for her, she had been able to move on after that encounter. But the mans pleading tone, the way he tried to trade his own mother for his life... he was pathetic. He was nothing to her now. Yes, she hadn't been able to forgive him, she never would, but she had been able to realize something that day. Hating that man, wishing that every bad thing possible would fall upon him, none of this would bring her mother back.

"Did I do something wrong?" Zuko answered a little more quietly. "Because if I did, I am so sorry, and I didn't mean to upset you, and-"

"No Zuko," Katara stopped him before he could finish. She looked him in the eyes, a slight smile spreading over her face. "I'm not mad at you. You didn't do anything wrong." _I don't think I could ever be mad at you again. _

"Than what's bothering you?" He made it clear that he wasn't leaving her alone until he figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Katara couldn't believe that just the day before she had hated his guts more than anything. Now, he was here beside her, comforting her when he didn't have to. He could have shrugged his shoulders and left her to mop alone. But he didn't. "I'm here for you. That's what friends are for. Unless you don't want to be friends. I'd understand if you want to stay as acquaintances, but if you want... I could... I could be your. friend? But only if you are okay with that. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, your my friend silly," Katara elbowed him playfully. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Care to talk?"

"I'd like to just sit in the quiet for a bit." Katara adverted her eyes away from the firebender and looked back at the water below her.

"Is it okay if I sit with you?" Zuko looked out at the roaring waves. "Your brother and Suki are... Sokka refers to it as penguin sledding, rather loudly right now_. _I'm afraid they might wake Toph up doing that and I don't want to be there when she buries them."

Katara sighed over dramatically before grinning back at Zuko. "I guess."

The ocean waves crashed against the shores as the two sat inches apart just enjoying the others company on a lonely night. Katara risked glancing over at the firebender beside her a few times though. He sat leaning back, his hands behind him for support, while his feet dangled carelessly below him. His ebony hair, now grown rugged around his face, cased shadows over his pale features. He was sitting on the left of her, so she had a clear image of the unscarred side on his face. She admired the way his golden eyes shinned in the moon light. They gleamed with so much life, so much mischief. But there was also a deep shadow around his eyes, they were like the eyes of someone who has gone through and seen more things than any man his age should. How was it possible for his eyes to be both tired and old, but also alive and childlike?

Once more the image of the bloodbent man's own golden eyes flashed over her face. She sighed inwardly, turning away from Zuko as he turned towards her. "I keep thinking about the guy on the ship. The one I bloodbended."

"Bloodbended?' Zuko looked at her in confusion before realization spread over his face. "Is that what that was called? I've been wanting to ask you about that. I've never seen anything like it. It was, both amazing and terrifying."

"It was wrong," she spat out bitterly, "I was so consumed with hate that I didn't think to make sure it was him. I just attacked, like a wild animal. I was no better than any other ruthless soldier. No better than the men who attacked my village."

"Don't say that," Zuko placed a comforting hand on her shoulders. "You are nothing like them. You're the sweetest, kindest, most forgiving girl I know Katara. You're an amazing person. Those men were ruthless and uncaring. You are nothing like them. So don't ever say that again. The others would be lost without you here, I would be lost without you here. You helped open my eyes, Katara." _Maybe I opened them a little too late, _he thought bitterly. "You had all right to be angry when you thought that he was the one. Nobody would think any less of you. I don't think any less of you."

"You don't understand Zuko," Katara bit her lip trying to keep the tears from coming. She wasn't going to cry. Not now. Not in front of Zuko. "You don't know what its like. What its like to reach inside of somebody and take away their control. To have someone reach inside you like that. You don't know what happened when I had to first do it. That feeling. Knowing that she could have killed me with a nod. Knowing that she almost killed the boys and I was nearly powerless to stop her. Knowing I could have killed her..." She trailed off allowing the tear to fall down her face. She was only half surprised when she felt Zuko's finger brush across her face and remove the tear.

"Than tell me." He whispered. "Tell me what happened."

"There was this woman named Hama," Katara didn't know why she was telling him this, but there was just something about having him all to herself that made her feel more comfortable. More at home. Besides, if anyone would understand where she was coming from it would be him. Sokka, as much as she loved her brother, wasn't all too familiar with the bending world and she'd have to explain things more than she really wanted to. Toph hadn't been present for the actual bloodbending part of the night, only showing up with the missing villagers afterwards. Aang, this just wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with the airbender. Suki was in the same boat as Sokka. This left Zuko,and something told her he'd be the best one to have listening.

"We met her shortly after we entered the Fire Nation. She _stumbled _upon us in the woods and brought us back to her inn and let us stay the night. The next morning while we were out we heard talk about missing villagers. Every full moon, people would just vanish in the woods. Sokka and Aang wanted to figure out the mystery. He suspected Hama had something to do with it, so whenever we got back to the inn and she was out he started snooping. Found out she was from the Southern Water Tribes, had been taken during the Fire Nation raids to take away all our waterbenders. She would have known my grandmother, they were about the same age. But later that night she said she wanted to teach me some waterbending, she'd already shown me how to pull water from plants and stuff earlier so I was excited. It was a full moon, and Sokka took Toph and Aang to go investigate the missing people.

"While they went looking through the woods for evil spirits, Hama and I were just half a mile away. And things started piecing together as she told me her story. About being taken, and locked in a cage away from water, with no one left to rescue you. She told me about how she would, whenever everyone was asleep and the guards weren't looking, she would bloodbend the rats in the cells. After awhile, she mastered the art and used it to escape. Afterwards she ended up in the Fire Nation and started using her gift for revenge. I figured out that she was the one kidnapping people and she told me it was true.

"I refused to let her teach me and told her I was going to stop her. She... she..." Katara tasted the blood in her mouth as she bit down on her lip harder. "She bloodbended me." Katara caught Zuko's eyes narrow suddenly, his brow tight with anger and concern. "It was like someone had reached inside of me and was pulling me about like I puppet. I could feel her reach inside me and take control. It was like she had a hold of every one of my blood cells and she was making them dance how she wanted. I couldn't fight it. Than Sokka and Aang showed up saying that Hama was the one kidnapping people. Like I didn't know by then. But Hama, she said that if I wasn't willing to learn, she was going to force me. The next thing I knew, Sokka and Aang were attacking me under her control. I couldn't hurt them, and Hama seemed to realize that I was only trying to hold her off until she wore out. So she changed tactics. Sokka and Aang went flying towards each other, Sokka's sword aimed right where Aang's heart was. I didn't have much of a choice. I... I... I bloodbent Hama.

"I reached inside of her and took control. Managed to stop the boys just inches apart. But taking that control, watching as she struggled against my grip, unable to free herself... it was both terrifying and invigorating. The adrenaline just shot through me. I felt so powerful and so in control. But I was also scary and the thought of having that much control frighted me. I could kill her with one glance. Kill her just like she tried to kill Sokka and Aang. But I didn't. Having that much power flowing through you, it clouds your mind.

"On that ship, when I thought it was him... I just let that power cloud my head again. I let the anger and hate take over and didn't think. I promised myself I would never bloodbend again after Hama, and I had broken it and that scares me. I hated the feeling of being bloodbent, and I hate the feeling of bloodbending someone else just as much. If I was capable of lashing out like that on just the assumption of that was the right man, what could happen the next time I get mad. Hama was just so full of rage and revenge, and so was I. I don't want to become her. I don't want to turn into that."

"You won't." Zuko's comforting tone nearly caused Katara to jump. She had almost forgotten about the firebender beside her. "Hama sounds like a horrible person. You aren't going to turn out like her. Like you said, you could have killed Hama that night, but you didn't. Just like you didn't kill Yon Ra even though you could have. You don't have to worry about becoming a bad person Katara. Do you feel bad about bloodbending that man?"

"Bad? I feel terrible! Horrible!"

"There," he responded, "you're completely different from both Hama and Yon Ra. And any other bad person you think you're going to turn out to be like. Neither of them seemed to feel anything towards what they did. You do."

"So feeling bad makes me a good person," Katara raised an eyebrow but smiled. She understood what Zuko was trying to get at, even if he was scrambling a bit. "I get it Zuko. And thank you. For listening, for taking me to confront him. For just, being here for me. I've been a total jerk to you since you joined us, and you really didn't have any reason to do any of these for me. So thank you." She leaned against his body at the point, nuzzling herself under his arm.

"I had a lot of reason," Zuko muttered under his breathe. He felt his heart beat increase even faster than it already was as Katara nudged herself deeper against his body.

**-oOo-**

**Took forever to get this done and was almost late for day two. Ended up being sick so no one got me up until 1 in the afternoon, and than someone already used the idea I was planning on doing so I had to come up with something else because I want to be original and different this year, and than the girls wanted me to show them how to draw and that took away some time, and than I got distracted on facebook due to a conversation about hairbrushes, kidnapping me, and a robot. But I was able to finish, thankfully.**

**Authors Note Time...**

**For me, at this point of their friendship talking would be a very momentous thing. Considering that all previous shown conversations where not very pleasant, a nice emotional opening was in order. I was going to have Zuko talk about his mommy, because he heard all about Katara's mommy, but I didn't have the time and it seemed like a useless add on. So until another time... **

**Okay, so this conversation should have taken place. Blood bending would be a huge thing for Katara, hence why she makes it illegal in a few years. I don't think having that power would be something she'd walk around and use all the time. It would be scary and frighting to hold that kind of power. We could have the whole, Avatar powerful, conversation here, but the bald kid is not the focus. Katara is a light hearten person, throughout the show she's shown helping people in any way she can, Painted Lady people! Control people from the inside isn't going to sit well with her.**

**Her little "it was both terrifying and invigorating" statement reminded me of whenever Zuko was talking to Aang about redirecting lighting... a little while after this moment takes place. That was close to how he described redirecting lightning was like, super powerful and adrenaline busting... but dangerous and deadly. _Yes! I made connections! Bow down to my genius!_  
**

**All this in mind, I was kind of surprised when she bloodbended the captain on the ship. I think the adrenaline and the rage and hate just all got mixed together and she wasn't thinking clearly. Because the moment she saw that he was the wrong man she let him go and her eyes softened. But she's not going to just shack off bloodbending the wrong man like a fly on her shoulder. Its going to eat at her. And this is where Zuko comes in.**

**He's all for helping and as we can tell from the last line, the crush is mutual! Even if neither one of them want to emit it or fully understand what is happening. But I imagine that if anyone of the group would be able to help her get past wheat had happened, it would be Zuko. He uses his Zukoness and makes everything better. Or, as better as they can be during a war. **

**Off topic... am I the only one who found **_**The Puppet Master **_**and **_**Southen Radiars **_**both very dark and emotional chapters? This is supposed to be a childs show! And here we have evil inn keepers who bloodbend and kidnap people, and muderours and almost murders and very not child appropiate things. I mean, they killed Jet and Zhao in front of us! Now I just got off topic and I only have twenty minutes to upload if I want to still be on time for day two.**

**Until tommorrow!**


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